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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Lang Ya Territory was vast and boundless. It was also the Great Territory where Lang Ya Paradise was headquartered. Even Void Land had its own Great Territory, so as one of the 72 Paradises, it was only natural that Lang Ya Paradise owned a Great Territory too.
Aside from the central area in Lang Ya Territory that was off-limits to outsiders, travellers were free to access all the other areas in the Great Territory. This was basically the case with all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. The reason was that the large-scale Star Cities under their control relied on travelling cultivators to gain popularity. Who would come and do business with them if the entire Great Territory was sealed off? Take Void Territory for example. Aside from Void Land itself, the other areas could be freely accessed by all cultivators.
The group of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters quietly sneaked into Lang Ya Territory; after that, Yang Kai headed to Lang Ya Star City alone while Yu Xiang Die and the others remained hiding outside. If such a large group of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters entered Lang Ya Star City all of a sudden, they would surely attract Lang Ya Paradise’s attention. It would be inconvenient for them to act freely if that happened.
The current plan was for Yang Kai to infiltrate Lang Ya Paradise, learn the identity and whereabouts of the people corrupted by the Black Ink, follow the trail in search of the pure Black Ink clansman, and notify Yu Xiang Die and the others about his findings as soon as possible. It was an arduous task and much needed to be done in short order!
Yang Kai came to the Star City’s Void Dock and, looking around, saw that it was crowded with people coming and going in an endless stream. Any Star City under the control of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises were First-Class and had high popularity. Cultivators from different Great Territories across the 3,000 Worlds would gather in these Star Cities, bringing incalculable benefits to the Cave Heavens and Paradises every year.
If Void Star City had not attracted interest with the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, it would never have become a First-Class Star City; however, in comparison to Lang Ya Star City, Yang Kai discovered that, although Void Star City could be considered to be in the same tier, it was still quite inferior to Lang Ya Star City in terms of heritage. That was understandable, though, as Lang Ya Paradise had existed for hundreds of thousands of years. It was simply impossible for a newly-emerging great force like Void Land to compete.
There was a Master overseeing the dock, and his aura was completely undisguised, revealing that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Thus, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed by Lang Ya Paradise’s impressive assets. Even the person in charge of the Void Dock was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It had to be said that the person overseeing Void Land’s Dock was Jin Yuan Lang, who was only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai obediently stood at the end of the line, waiting for the Lang Ya Paradise disciples to inspect him. Before it got to his turn, one of the Lang Ya Paradise disciples seemed to receive some instructions and headed straight for him. The Lang Ya Paradise disciple approached him and politely said, “Senior Brother, Martial Uncle Zong invites you into the inner hall.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little surprised. He did not know why he would be noticed by this ‘Martial Uncle Zong’ when he was simply standing in line quietly. Before he could understand the situation though, the Lang Ya Paradise disciple headed to another person and repeated similar words. There was also a third person who received this treatment.
Yang Kai looked at the other two and discovered that they were just like him, giving off the aura of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven. Only then did he realise something, he had not been targeted specifically. On the contrary, all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Masters entering Lang Ya Star City would receive similar invitations.
It was probably for the stability of Lang Ya Star City. Even if there were Masters overseeing Lang Ya Star City in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, if anybody with nefarious intentions were to infiltrate, it would create a huge loss if anything went wrong.
After understanding this point, Yang Kai calmly walked towards the Inner Hall by the side of the dock. There was also a man and a woman following behind him, but he did not know their origins.
Inside the Inner Hall was a middle-aged man sitting behind a long desk. His aura was extraordinary and, as soon as Yang Kai and the other two walked in, he observed them carefully without any reservations. It was not until the three of them had approached that he finally opened his mouth, “Please take a seat.”
Yang Kai and the other two exchanged a glance with each other before they took their respective seats.
The middle-aged man showed no hospitality. According to his self-introduction, he was called Zong Yu Quan and he was in charge of overseeing the dock at Lang Ya Star City as well as inspecting the cultivators passing through.
There was no particular reason for inviting these three over, he simply wanted to question them about their respective origins and backgrounds. That was part of the protocol at Lang Ya Star City since ancient times. While they could ignore anybody below the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, those in the Sixth-Order and above would need to be inspected thoroughly to enter Lang Ya Star City.
The man and the woman reported their respective identities and origins and Zong Yu Quan verified them one by one. After confirming that there were no problems, he gave them each a special token before he released them. Before they departed, he also warned them not to cause any trouble in Lang Ya Star City; otherwise, they would be killed without mercy. Both the man and the woman clearly knew the rules here. It was probably not their first time coming here, so they naturally responded in affirmation.
After the two of them departed, Zong Yu Quan finally turned to look at Yang Kai, “Where did you come from, Your Excellency? Why did you come to Lang Ya Star City?”
Although they were both in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Zong Yu Quan had always maintained a slightly arrogant attitude when facing Yang Kai and the other two. Having been born in one of the 72 Paradises, his heritage was not something that normal people could achieve; therefore, he was indeed superior compared to other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who did not come from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Yang Kai had been wondering whether he should conceal his identity or tell the truth. It was just that Zong Yu Quan clearly had a method to verify a person’s identity, so concealing his name might be unrealistic. Besides, the main purpose of his visit was to search for the people who had been corrupted by the Black Ink Clan, so it would not be convenient for him to act if he concealed his identity.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not reveal his identity directly. Taking out a token, he smiled and asked, “Senior Brother Zong, do you recognize this item?”
Zong Yu Quan looked up and raised his brow in astonishment, “That is a token belonging to a Lang Ya Paradise Core Disciple. Where did you get it?”
That item was equivalent to a status symbol in Lang Ya Paradise. Only Core Disciples were qualified to possess one. It was impossible for ordinary people to obtain one. Be that as it may, one of these items had appeared in Yang Kai’s hand. It was only natural for Zong Yu Quan to be surprised.
He did not suspect that Yang Kai had obtained this token by killing the owner and stealing the other party’s treasures. If that was truly the case, then Yang Kai would never have had the guts to come here; hence, the only explanation was that he either picked it up from somewhere or it was given to him by one of Lang Ya Paradise’s Core Disciples.
This token was indeed given to Yang Kai by Gu Pan. After returning from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, many of the cultivators who escaped with their lives thanks to Yang Kai’s help had given their respective tokens to him before they went their separate ways. They had invited him to visit them at their respective Sects whenever he had the time.
Gu Pan had given him this token back then.
Yang Kai had thought about visiting Lang Ya Paradise whenever he had the time; after all, Zhang Ruo Xi was staying in Lang Ya Paradise and this token would allow him to visit her easily. It was just that he had been so busy running around for so many years that he only managed to visit Lang Ya Paradise briefly, and upon discovering that Zhang Ruo Xi was in retreat, he swiftly departed. If it was not for the Black Ink Clan, he would not have come here again so soon.
“This is something Gu Pan gave me,” Yang Kai replied honestly.
Zong Yu Quan exclaimed in surprise, “Your Excellency, are you acquainted with Junior Sister Gu?”
“We are friends who faced life and death together,” Yang Kai nodded.
Yang Kai’s answer truly left Zong Yu Quan scratching his head in puzzlement. It stood to reason that he, as a disciple in Lang Ya Paradise, was acquainted with Gu Pan. Although they were not very familiar with each other, they had at least interacted with each other on a few occasions in the Sect.
As one of the few Core Disciples in the Sect, Gu Pan was a rising star who had advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was something Zong Yu Quan could not compare with. Besides, for her to give her token to another person, it could be seen that the relationship between them was not superficial.
He pondered in silence for a moment before he finally asked, “May I ask who this Fellow Brother is?”
“Void Land’s Yang Kai!” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
Zong Yu Quan’s eyes immediately brightened, and he stood up, “Are you the same Yang Kai who is Void Land’s Lord and the Star Boundary’s Great Emperor, within High Heaven Territory?”
[I can’t believe I have such prestige now! That feels really amazing for some reason!] Yang Kai nodded reservedly, “It is this Yang!”
An inexplicable glint flashed across Zong Yu Quan’s eyes, and he instantly became much more welcoming, “Oh, my! I’ve long admired you! I’ve long heard about you, but never had the chance to meet you. Now that I see you today, you definitely live up to your reputation!”
“You are too polite, Senior Brother Zong!” Yang Kai nodded his head with a smile.
Zong Yu Quan did not doubt Yang Kai’s identity. Seeing as the Core Disciple’s token had been brought out, there was no benefit to be gained even if this person was an impersonator. That was why he was confident that the person in front of him was Yang Kai even though he had never met Yang Kai before.
After that, they exchanged pleasantries for a little while longer before Zong Yu Quan finally shouted, “Come in!”
The Lang Ya Paradise disciple who guided Yang Kai to this place earlier stepped into the room and cupped his fist, “Martial Uncle Zong!”
Zong Yu Quan said, “Return to the Sect and inform Elder Gu Pan that a friend of hers has arrived in the Star City. Please ask her to come here!”
The disciple glanced at Yang Kai curiously before he left to carry out his orders.
Zong Yu Quan then asked for tea to be served. His attitude seemed to indicate that he regretted not meeting Yang Kai earlier. Even though Yang Kai was a little taken aback by Zong Yu Quan’s enthusiasm, he had no choice except to make perfunctory conversation with the other party.
Zong Yu Quan clearly had great curiosity towards the Star Boundary’s World Tree and asked many questions regarding it. When he learned that the feedback of the World Tree was only effective for cultivators who had yet to condense their Dao Seals and had no benefit towards those who had condensed their Dao Seals and advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, he sighed with regret.
“I wish I had been born 3,000 years later!” He smiled bitterly, “I’ll be honest with you, Junior Brother Yang. Even though I advanced into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm during my initial breakthrough into the Open Heaven Realm, I actually had the qualification to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. But, just to be on the safe side, I chose to advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. If I had something like the World Tree back then, this Senior Brother would have advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm with no problem.”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “You are now a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm too, Senior Brother.”
Zong Yu Quan said, “That’s different! The limit for the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm is the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but if I advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm back then, my limit would have been the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The difference of one Order is as vast as Heaven and Earth!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm might only have a difference of one Order, but the gap in strength was like day and night. Just like how a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could easily kill a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master killing a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master required little to no effort on their part.
Back in the Shattered Heaven, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Xia Lin Lang didn’t even have the courage to face Bright Sun Divine Monarch. Furthermore, she had been chased to the brink of desperation.
“Now that we have the World Tree in the Star Boundary, even more rising stars will surely emerge in Lang Ya Paradise. This is all thanks to you, Junior Brother Yang.”
“It was just a coincidence,” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively.
When he first planted the World Tree, he had simply wanted to stabilise the Star Boundary. Who would have thought that it would make the Star Boundary so famous? And now, the small and remote Star Boundary had become the centre of attention of the entire 3,000 Worlds. The name ‘Open Heaven Realm Cradle’ was well-deserved indeed.
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.
It’s the Demon Realm scenarios all over again.
Anyways, demon qi has corruption properties so what happens if they come into contact with Black Ink Smoke?
Black ink is stronger so it will just corrupt the demon qi rather then become corrupted by the demon qi
I was thinking it’ll have a level of resistance